The field of the invention relates generally to administrative systems for institutional environments, and more specifically to Internet access authorization and regulation systems and methods for institutional environments such as correctional facilities.
Various types of institutional facilities are known that house residents in a controlled environment. Such institutional facilities include, for example, correctional facilities such as prisons and jails, hospitals, convalescent homes, long term care facilities, nursing homes, psychiatric facilities, rehabilitation facilities and developmental disability facilities. Activities of residents in such controlled environments are in some cases restricted, and a high degree of supervision is exercised over the residents. This is especially so in correctional facilities housing incarcerated individuals, often referred to as inmates. As a result, significant administrative difficulties exist in such institutional environments, including but not limited to correctional facilities, that do not necessarily exist in other environments.
Networked computer systems exist in many institutional facilities today, but tend to be closed access systems that are carefully restricted for most users. In the correctional facility context, inmates may be authorized for limited use of existing systems to purchase goods from a commissary service, schedule appointments, make telephone calls, send and receive emails or messages to and from persons outside the facility, access inmate financial accounts administered by the facility, obtain information and announcements from the facility, etc. Such systems may also process commissary orders from inmates, accept deposits and debit inmate financial accounts for purchases or other transactions, and otherwise streamline management of the facility.
While existing computer systems designed to meet the needs of institutional environments have made great strides to date in providing both increased convenience to institutional residents such as inmates and reducing efforts on facility administrators to provide and oversee various services and activities, they have yet to completely meet the needs of the marketplace and improvements are desired. In particular, any ability to effectively implement online access to the Internet in a safe and secure manner for at least some residents of an institutional facility is sorely lacking.